Charles Mason Beach
'Charles Mason Beach '(February 18, 1826 - June 27, 1910) was a prominent businessman in West Hartford, Connecticut, and an established dairy farmer in the state of Connecticut. Beach was born on February 18, 1826 in Hartford, Connecticut, as the son of George Beach, Sr. and Harriet Bradley. His early education was obtained in Hartford, followed by two years at a boarding school. Soon after, he began business as a clerk in the store of Howe, Mather & Co. on Asylum Street in Hartford, the firm later becoming Mather, Morgan & Company. In 1848, he began business in dye making and chemical production with two of his elder brothers, George Beach, Jr. and J. Watson Beach. Two or three years later, the firm became Beach & Company, and Beach remained in it until his death, although he had taken no active part in the business during the last few years of his life. In 1859, he made a summer home for himself in West Hartford and moved there permanently in 1869, establishing one of the largest dairy and sheep farms in the state of Connecticut. He was also one of the founders of the American Jersey Cattle Club and of the American Guernsey Cattle Club, and was also a member of the Hartford Club and the Hartford Golf Club. Beach was the oldest director of the Phoenix Insurance Company of Hartford, and was one of the oldest directors of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Company as well. He became a director of the Hartford Carpet Corporation and of its predecessor, the Hartford Carpet Company. He was a director of the Phoenix National Bank and of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, having been on the board of the latter since 1879. He had for many years been a director of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, resigning in around 1907-08 because of his deteriorating health. He was additionally a director of the Holyoke Water Power Company. He was a trustee of the Hartford Retreat, and since 1900, had been one of the trustees of donations and bequests for church purposes of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. For many years, he had been senior warden of St. James's Parish in West Hartford, Connecticut. The last decade of his life in retirement was confined to his home. In January 1902, he drove to the home of his son-in-law on Prospect Hill to attend a social gathering when his horse became startled and threw him to the ground, dislocating his shoulder. On June 27, 1910, Charles Beach died at his home at Vine Hill in West Hartford, Connecticut, of disease incident to old age. He had been in failing health for several months, but his serious illness lasted almost two weeks. The funeral was held at his home and he was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut. Family Beach married Frances Lyman Belknap in Hartford, Connecticut on October 8, 1849. * Harriet Beach - William W. Huntington * Charles Edward Beach - m. Catherine Harriet Coffing * Thomas Belknap Beach - m. Mary Mansfield * Frances Antoinette Beach - unmarried. * Mary Elizabeth Beach - unmarried. * Edith Beach - unmarried.